California Chrome romps to victory in Santa Anita Derby

Victor Espinoza and California Chrome win the million dollar Santa Anita Derby Saturday, April 5, 2014 at Santa Anita Park and will be headed to the Kentucky Derby. (Photo by Sarah Reingewirtz/Pasadena Star-News)

By Art Wilson

Correspondent

ARCADIA >> Wait until they get a load of California Chrome and his connections at Churchill Downs. As former presidential candidate Ross Perot was fond of saying, “It’s going to be a real hootenanny.”

California Chrome stamped himself as the Kentucky Derby favorite Saturday with a 5 1/4-length victory in the $1 million Santa Anita Derby, running the 1 1/8 miles in 1:47.52 as the Lucky Pulpit colt ran his win streak to four in front of an on-track crowd of 35,241.

He’s won the four races, all stakes, by a combined 24 1/4 lengths. He deserves Derby favoritism because of his versatility and the way he’s won. He looks like a running machine.

But a majority of the Kentucky blue bloods most likely will scoff at the horse from California on May 3. He was bred in the Golden State and his mare, Love the Chase, won an $8,000 maiden claiming race at Golden Gate Fields and was never head from again. She won a mere $7,020 in six career starts.

Ready for more? He’s been training at Los Alamitos, known more for quarter-horse racing and its $2,500 thoroughbred claiming races.

Not exactly a story made in Bluegrass heaven.

And how about the name of the winning stable? DAP, which stands for Dumb Ass Partners. The stable’s emblem? A jackass.

“Somebody told us, ‘You guys are dumb asses if you get involved in this game,’” co-owner Steve Coburn said in explaining how they came up with the name for their stable.

Oh yeah, the folks in Kentucky are going to love these guys.

“We’re just everyday people,” said Coburn, who’s boldly predicting California Chrome will become the first Cal-bred to win the Triple Crown. “To think we have the number one 3-year-old in California and the United States right now ... yeah, he’s a Cal-bred, but he doesn’t know that.”

Trainer Art Sherman knows a thing or two about Cal-breds enjoying success in Louisville. He worked for Swaps’ owner, Rex Ellsworth, when that Cal-bred won the 1955 Derby and Sherman was at Churchill Downs the day he upset Nashua.

“All I can tell you right now is he’s my Swaps,” Sherman, 77, said. “It’s very humbling to have a horse like this.”

California Chrome, sent postward at 3-5, broke a bit awkwardly and tracked pacesetter and 33-1 longshot Dublin Up from second through fractions of 22.89, 47.02 and 1:10.81. He took over at the head of the stretch and just toyed with his seven rivals from there. He probably could have won by at least seven or eight lengths if jockey Victor Espinoza had urged him in the stretch, but there was no need.

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Hoppertunity closed strongly for second, but the 4-1 third choice never threatened the winner. It was another 3 1/2 lengths back to Candy Boy, who went off at 5-2, and Dublin Up hung around for fourth. A colt many felt had a longshot chance in the race, Schoolofhardrocks, finished a disappointing last at 16-1.

Sherman’s son and assistant, Alan, perhaps summed it up best.

“My expectations were high, but this performance exceeded them,” he said.

California Chrome’s owners, Coburn and Perry Martin, were offered $6 million for the horse about three weeks ago. They turned down the offer because Sherman might not have been retained as the colt’s trainer by the new owner and they would have lost control of the horse.

“We were told the new owner would be making all the decisions,” Martin said. The offer was for 51 percent of the horse.

So what would it take now for someone to pry California Chrome away from Coburn and Martin?

“That’s something we’d have to drink over,” Coburn said.

The victory was California Chrome’s sixth in 10 starts and elevated him to millionaire status. His bankroll swelled to $1,134,850 with the $600,000 winning check as he became the lone 3-year-old so far to win one of the major Grade I Derby preps as the favorite. Social Inclusion was third in the Wood Memorial, Cairo Prince finished fourth in the Florida Derby and Intense Holiday was runner-up in the Louisiana Derby.

“I got a little spooked leaving the gate,” Art Sherman said. “He got banged around pretty good, but I really think he’s a better horse stalking. When he won the San Felipe, he was on the lead all the way, which is something new to me. But I really prefer this type of race where he’s right off the lead.

“I can’t believe the races I’ve been seeing. A length or two might have been all right with me.”

Bob Baffert, who trains Hoppertunity, said his colt will move on to the Derby.

Candy Boy, who came in off a half-length victory in the Grade II Robert B. Lewis Stakes on Feb. 8, is hopeful his colt can run in the Derby. He got 20 qualifying points for finishing third, which puts him on the bubble if the race oversubscribes.

“We’d like to race on,” trainer John Sadler said. “We’ll see where the points fall and if 30 points gets us to move on, we’ll move on. We think our horse likes distance. The speed today has been staying.”